Philadelphia Phillies legend and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt announced Sunday he is recovering from an advanced form of skin cancer after being diagnosed with Stage 3 melanoma in August and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment in the months that followed.
Schmidt, 64, said he has undergone two operations, radiation and chemotherapy.
Philly.com’s Ryan Lawrence writes that Schmidt, who arrived in Clearwater, Fla., to begin his second stint with the Phillies’ broadcast team, said the latest scans on his body have been clear.
“I feel fantastic right now,” Schmidt said.
—New York Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese, who departed Sunday’s spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals after two innings with elbow discomfort, will undergo an MRI on Monday.
Niese, who was expected to be the Opening Day starter, will fly to New York on Sunday night and undergo an MRI with team doctor David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan on Monday.
According to ESPN.com, Niese said the injury flared up during an intrasquad game 10 days ago. He has been taking anti-inflammatory medication since the injury first started bothering him. It began posing a problem in the second inning Sunday when he hyperextended it on a pitch.
—Left-hander Patrick Corbin, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ scheduled Opening-Day starter, has a partially torn ligament in his left elbow that could end his season before it begins.
Corbin might be facing season-ending Tommy John surgery. The team announced in a statement that the damage is the ulnar collateral ligament. Corbin will get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews before deciding on the surgery or rehab.
The 24-year-old Corbin felt stiffness in the elbow during the seventh inning of a spring training game on Saturday against the Cleveland Indians. It was his last scheduled outing before the regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Australia on March 22. With Corbin on the shelf, left-hander Wade Miley was named to take his place in the opener.
—Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias, who has been battling shin issues, will open the season on the 15-day disabled list, general manager Dave Dombrowski confirmed Sunday.
Iglesias, who has missed the last two weeks of spring training with what has been termed as a stress reaction in both shins, will visit another foot and ankle specialist for another opinion on his injury Tuesday.
Dombrowski did not comment on a Sunday morning report from ESPN that Iglesias will be out until midseason with a stress fracture. According to MLB.com, Iglesias saw a Lakeland-based foot and ankle specialist last week and received an adjustment in his orthotics that he has been wearing since at least last year.